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Interview: Morgan Freeman

On playing Mandela: When he published his autobiography, he was asked who he would want to play him, if the book ever became a movie. And he named me. So, I was sort of the chosen one, as it were.

[The Black Star Interview]

Morgan Freeman, was born in Memphis, Tennessee on June 1, 1937 but raised from infancy in Charleston, Mississippi by hispaternal grandmother. Every summer as a young child, he would visit his parents who had moved to Chicago, which is where he developed his loveof the cinema. He started acting at the age of 9, exhibiting promise as a lead character in a school play. Although he had won a statewide dramacompetition, upon graduating from high school, he opted to enlist in the Air Force rather than accept a college scholarship to pursue his truepassion.

After being honorably discharged from the military in the late Fifties, Freeman decided it was time to take his shot at showbiz. But hestruggled for years, first finding work as a dancer, then on the stage in a variety of modest company productions. Eventually, he made his wayto Broadway where he debuted in Hello Dolly in 1968, which led to his landing a steady gig as Easy Reader on the children’s TV series “TheElectric Company.” He subsequently appeared on such soap operas as “Another World” and “Ryan’s Hope” before finally landing his breakout role opposite Robert Redford in Brubaker in 1980. Hollywood soon took note, enabling the capable thespian to blossom into the universally-admired, consummateactor we’ve all enjoyed over the years.

A cursory glance at Mr. Freeman’s resume’ reveals a plethora of memorable hit movies, including Lean on Me, Glory, Unforgiven, Amistad,Deep Impact, Bruce Almighty, Batman Begins, Gone Baby Gone, The Bucket List and The Dark Knight, to name a few. He delivered Oscar-nominatedperformances, in Street Smart, Driving Miss Daisy and The Shawshank Redemption before finally winning that elusive Academy Award in 2005 forMillion Dollar Baby, which also earned Best Picture and Best Director honors for Clint Eastwood.

He reunited with Eastwood to make his latest picture, Invictus, an uplifting, historical saga based on actual events which unfolded inSouth Africa shortly after the fall of the apartheid regime. Freeman, who still makes his home in Mississippi, spoke with me recently abouthis life, career and the challenge of portraying Nelson Mandela.

Black Star News: Mr. Freeman, thanks so much for the time. I’m honored to be speaking with you. Morgan Freeman: Well, thank you.

BSN: First, let me say congratulations on winning the National Board of Review’s Best Actor Award for Invictus. MF: Thank you very much.

BSN: Was making this movie a labor of love? I heard that it was something that you’d wanted to do for a long time.MF: Well, it wasn’t necessarily this project, but I felt destined to do something about Mandela. I don’t know whether you know that in 1992, when he published his autobiography, he was asked who he would want to play him, if the book ever became a movie. And he named me. So, I was sort of the chosen one, as it were. Therefore, I expected that eventually I would play him, but we always thought it would be in a movie version of “Long Walk to Freedom.” It didn’t turn out that way, however.

BSN: But you obviously also liked Invictus. MF: My partner and I thought that this story was ideal. This one, we felt was perfect to go with.

BSN: Attorney Bernadette Beekman wanted to know whether you ever met Mandela. MF: Yes, I’ve met him on a number of occasions, and have even been able to spend some time with him.

BSN: Children’s book author Irene Smalls asks, how would you characterize your relationship with Clint Eastwood, as a friend, mentor or fellow artist? MF: I think it’s as friend and fellow artist. Yeah, fellow artist, first.

BSN: Reverend Florine Thompson asks, who or what has been your greatest source of encouragement and inspiration?MF: Sidney Poitier, his whole life and career.

BSN: She also wants to know, how important is spirituality in your life?MF: Very important. Very important, indeed, although I’m not what you would call “officially” spiritual.

BSN: Aspiring actor Tommy Russell asks, did you ever want to give up as an actor?MF: Oh, yeah. Many times--many times…

BSN: The Columbus Short question: Are you happy?MF: Happiness is relative. I’m content.

BSN: The Teri Emerson question: When was the last time you had a good laugh?MF: Well, I’ve been with Clint and Matt Damon the last couple of days, and we’ve laughed a lot.

BSN: The music maven Heather Covington question: What are you listening to? MF: An eclectic mix of people. Right now, I have a mix on my disc player of Norah Jones, Ray Charles, Franks Sinatra and Al Green.

BSN: When you look in the mirror, what do you see? Ludacris said, “an entrepre-Negro,” Gladys Knight said, “A child of God,” Faizon Love responded, “The light! The reflection of the light,” Mo’Nique said, “I see somebody that’s full of life,” and LeBron Jamesanswered, “A great father, a great friend, a loyal person and someone who’s always trying to make a difference.” MF: I see happiness and sadness as two sides of the same coin. And if you’re somewhere in the middle of that, you’re going to float both ways from time to time,but you never know what your ambient temperature might be.

BSN: Wesley Derbyshire asks, how is it that you always manage to evoke power, deep emotion, and true conviction onscreen, and in such a serene fashion? MF: In my mind, acting is believing. That’s the way I learned it, and how I still think of it. So, in order to be true to any character, you have to believe that youare that character, and that you have his belief system working for you. That way, when you’re reciting your lines, you’ll be saying them from a place of conviction.

BSN: Laz Lyles asks, did you have to sacrifice a modicum of reverence for Mandela as an actor to bring out the full palette of complexity and humanity of a person as universally esteemed as Mandela? She says she heard Clint Eastwood mention some of the ways in which Mandela was flawed. So she’d like to know what it was like for you as an actor to get into the psyche of a person who is viewed as so selfless and spiritual, and to discover that he’s also flawed. MF: Well, I had already read so much about Mandela that I knew a long time ago that not only is he a human who is flawed, but that there are certain personal failings as a man for which he cannot forgive himself. For despite all of his political triumphs, he feels unfulfilled in terms of his family.

BSN: Carmela Reimers asks, how hard was it to get Mandela’s accent down?MF: Very hard. In fact, that was the most challenging part of the whole role. It wasn’t impossible, but if I were to say any part of the role was hard, it would haveto be that.

BSN: Uduak Oduok asks, how did you like shooting on location in South Africa, and how do you think Africa will be influence America, culturally, in the coming years?MF: I really enjoyed being in South Africa. It is really an amazing place. We spent about six weeks in Cape Town and two weeks in Joburg. I still find it avery exciting country. As old as it really is, right now it seems on the verge of leaping into the 21st Century. Culturally, I don’t think Africa is going to have anymore effect on America than it already has, which has been considerable. But I believe South Africa will have an enormous influence on the rest of that continent.I certainly hope so.

BSN: What advice do you have for anyone who wants to follow in your footsteps?MF: For anyone who wants to follow in my footsteps? I’ve laid down a lot offootsteps and tracks in different directions, so it would depend on which way theywant to go. In general, I would say, “Gird your loins, and go where you want to go!Do what you want to do.”

BSN: Have you remembered the last book you read yet? MF: One of thelast ones was Whiskey Gulf by Clyde Ford, a friend of mine up in the Washington area.